Laptop PC Problems: Fixing Laptop/Notebook Computer Problems - Page 1

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CONTENTS

Click the relevant link below to go to that Q&A topic. Use your browser's Back button to backtrack.

1. - The most common laptop/notebook PC problems covered in the MS Knowledge Base

2. - How can I reset the password-protected BIOS in a Samsung R40Plus laptop PC?

3. - HP Pavilion problems: The wireless networking of my HP Pavilion dv6000/dv7000/dv8000/dv9000 laptop/notebook computer/PC won't work

4. - How can I replace my Dell Inspiron 6000/6400/9200/9300/E1405/E1505 laptop/notebook PC's DVD drive?

5. - Acer says that my laptop was subject to accidental damage, which is not covered by a standard warranty

6. - Why does Windows report half the video memory that my laptop computer's video/graphics card should have?

7. - The memory requirements of Windows Vista: How much RAM memory does Windows Vista really need to run optimally?

8. - Power Options/Power Schemes: Whenever I close the lid of my laptop/notebook PC, it shuts down...

9. - Why is my laptop that is set to the "Always On" Power Scheme running at half speed?

10. - What do I have to know in order to use my notebook computer in the US and Europe?

12. - Shutdown problem: My three-year-old notebook PC started freezing and now it starts to shut down at random intervals

13. - Some of the newer PC games run very slowly at their lowest settings on my ageing laptop, but its manufacturer doesn't have updated drivers for the video/graphics card

14. - The backlight failed on my notebook PC's screen when it was just out of the warranty period and the manufacturer wants to charge me £300 to replace it

15. - I have to buy my son a laptop computer to help him with his studies at university, and I need to know how best to protect it from being stolen

16. - Can I install a standard laptop hard disk drive in my Dell Inspiron laptop computer?

17. - I can't find a wireless PC card that fits my notebook computer's PCMCIA slot

18. - How do I disable my laptop's touchpad in order to have just a mouse pointer?

The most common laptop/notebook PC problems covered in the MS Knowledge Base

How can I reset the password-protected BIOS in a Samsung R40Plus laptop PC?

Question

I have a Samsung R40Plus laptop PC running Vista Home Premium, and want to replace it with Windows XP Professional, but the BIOS setup program is password-protected and the password is not mentioned anywhere in the documentation. Is there any way onboard of re-setting the BIOS?

Answer

In a desktop PC, you would consult its user manual of its motherboard to locate the jumpers the pins of which are used to activate or reset the BIOS, but that can't be done easily with laptop PCs because of their highly integrated designs. In fact, it is advisable not to attempt to reset the BIOS of a laptop. Instead, you can make use of software that cracks the password.

CmosPwd decrypts the password stored in CMOS BIOS chip used to access the BIOS Setup Program - http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/CmosPwd.

HP Pavilion problems: The wireless networking of my HP Pavilion dv6000/dv7000/dv8000/dv9000 laptop/notebook computer/PC won't work

Problem

I have an HP Pavilion dv6000 laptop computer that has lost its wireless networking capability. The status light stays orange and the hardware switch can no longer be used to enable wireless networking. Moreover, the HP Wireless Assistant has disappeared and Windows Vista doesn't recognise the computer's wireless network card. HP Total Care says that it is aware of the problem that has affected many of this computer model's owners. I was advised to update the BIOS to the latest version. There are several posts in HP's own form asking for a fix. Apparently, many owners have updated the BIOS and had HP install a new motherboard without success.

Answer

It's an unfortunate fact that all of the major laptop PC manufacturers have reliable models and also some unreliable models. Problems are more common in the models that are sold as cheaply as possible, and are less frequent with the more expensive models designed for the business market. That said, on paper, the HP dv series laptops have a fairly impressive specification while remaining comparatively inexpensive. However, several problems have come to light with them.

For the dv7000 series, which suffered from problems associated with overheating and its graphics processor, HP replaced the motherboards or provided a replacement dv8000 system to purchasers with problems, even when out of warranty, after being hit with a class action lawsuit in the USA. Unfortunately, the dv8000 series proved just as problematic and was replaced by the dv9000 series. The dv6000 series was made available in conjunction with the dv9000 series. Unfortunately, both of of those series are also having problems - the wireless networking issue and also problems with the battery and battery-charging. In spite of issuing public statements to the contrary, HP is clearly aware of this state of affairs, while advising the purchasers of these models to update the BIOS, to run its recovery procedure, and to replace the wireless network card. Those are inexpensive remedies that are unlikely to fix the problems. There is clearly one or more flaws in the design of the motherboards in those models. The owners of those models that are still under warranty will have to wait until HP admits the problem and recalls them to be fitted with redesigned motherboards. However, in the UK, even if the computers are out of warranty, under the terms of the Sale of Goods Act, their owners can demand that they be repaired or replaced, because they have an inherent fault that makes them unfit for the purpose for which they were bought. In any case, a relatively inexpensive fix would be to buy a USB wireless adapter, or a one in the form of a PC Card.

A PC Card is credit card-sized expansion card that can add hardware such as RAM memory, a modem, mass storage, a wireless network card and I/O capabilities to laptop computers by inserting it in a slot in the computer that supports the type of card it is. Most current laptops use CardBus or the newer ExpressCard/54 PC Cards. CardBus is the 32-Bit version of PC Card technology.

How can I replace my Dell Inspiron 6000/6400/9200/9300/E1405/E1505 laptop/notebook PC's DVD drive?

Problem

I accidentally dropped my Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop PC when the optical Phillips DVD +/- SDVD8820 CD/DVD writer was open, which killed it. The extended warranty does not cover accidental damage, and I don't have accidental-damage insurance cover for it. Can I install any make of laptop optical drive, or do I have to obtain the same make and model? A Google search for the drive only located eBay as a source for second-hand drives, but I would rather have a brand-new drive. Could I buy a replacement from Dell?

Answer

You should buy the same make and model of CD/DVD writer because the laptop was designed to fit it. Another make/model might not fit.

This is the kind of information supplied on sites that supply replacement laptop parts:

"Do I have the right part? These drives are designed to specifically fit only the mentioned make and model laptops. Match the description, picture, and any part numbers associated with the part to our list."

The same drive has been used with a different outer plastic faceplate in different Inspiron models, including the 6000, 6400, 9200, 9300, E1405 and E1505, but you can easily unclip the faceplate on the existing drive and use it on the replacement.

Dell can supply you with a brand new drive over the telephone, but for some reason not from its website. You can find the contact number on its website. It is unlikely to be the cheapest source, so try using Google again to look for cheaper suppliers. There is a Google search box at the top of this page that can be used (with its Web radio button enabled). The drive shouldn't cost more than about £30/$60.

For the easiest replacement, obtain the exact Dell part number for the drive. It might be printed on the drive's label. If not, try visiting http://support.dell.com/. Enter your service tag and then select original configuration. Visit the following page for more information:

Dell Replacement Spare Parts and Upgrades:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/selector.aspx?ref=myaccount&id=cps&appIndex=dellspct&c=us&l=en&s=gen

Replacing the drive yourself shouldn't present you with any difficulties. Just remove the drive as shown in the service manual. If cables are attached to the drive remove and attach the cables to the same connectors on the replacement drive. Dell provides a service manual for all of its PCs. The information is also available from Dell's website. Here is the information in the service manual for the optical drive:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6400/en/sm/opdrive.htm#wp999869

It looks from that page as if there are no cables; the drive plugs into the computer automatically when you insert it.

If you don't need to use the computer on the move, you could buy an external USB DVD writer. Desktop PC external drives that have a desktop-sized drive in an external case are the cheapest and the fastest. They can be plugged into a USB port on the laptop. If you need to use the drive on the move, you should buy a portable drive, which houses a laptop-sized DVD writer in an external case. Portable USB drives are not as fast as external desktop USB drives. If possible, for the best results, you should use a portable drive's mains power adapter.

You can make use of the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled) to search for information and vendors of external desktop and portable DVD writers. The LG GSA-E50N portable drive and the Samsung Super-WriteMaster SE-S204 desktop external drive are both excelent products and both of them can be purchased for under £50/$100 (March 2008).

Acer says that my laptop was subject to accidental damage, which is not covered by a standard warranty

Problem

I bought an Acer Aspire 3050 series laptop/notebook computer in December 2006 from Comet. I finally got a broadband connection in March 2007. As soon as I connected the laptop, it started downloading a large number of updates, which took a long time. The next day when I turned the computer on there were some dead pixels in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and some discoloured horizontal and vertical lines. Then I watched as the dead pixels expanded until the whole corner was black. Having returned the computer to Comet, the company said that it was accidental damage, which is not covered by the standard warranty, and is therefore a chargeable repair, because accidental damage cover wasn't taken out. In order to get this confirmed, I got Comet to return the computer to Acer. That company's report merely said that the damage was a chargeable repair. As far as I know, the computer was never knocked or dropped, so I am dismayed by the situation. It strikes me as ridiculous how easily companies can escape from honouring their warranties by claiming something for which they have no proof. I would like to take the matter to court. Is this a good idea? Do I have to take both companies to court, or only its manufacturer, Acer?

Answer

Areas of black pixels on a screen are usually caused by physical damage that is the consequence of an impact from, say, a knock or fall, or excessive pressure applied to the screen.

The damage could have been caused by a person's handling of the machine, or there could be a fault or distortion in the laptop's lid that could have been caused by accidental damage before you received the machine. A distortion in the lid could have put stress on the screen panel that led to the failure over time. Unfortunately, you had the laptop for three months before the failure occurred, so it would be very difficult to prove that the damage happened before you received it.

Laptop PCs, being portable, are much more prone to accidental damage than desktop PCs. For that reason, taking out accidental damage cover, which isn't usually expensive is a good idea. I recently got a year's accidental damage and theft cover for a £700 laptop for £50.

If you want to take the matter to court, you would have to show on the balance of probabilities that the fault was due to a defect in the machine, not to accidental damage. You could take it to a reputable laptop repair company for investigation. If evidence turns up that supports your case you could take either Comet or Acer to court, depending on which company has to honour the machine's warranty. However, the most likely outcome is that you'll have to pay to have the laptop repaired. You should obtain a quote on the cost, because it might be more time and cost-effective to buy a new machine. When a new laptop computer becomes seriously faulty, it may continue having problems.

Why does Windows report half the video memory that my laptop computer's video/graphics card should have?

Question

I have a Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop computer, purchased in April 2007, that runs Windows Vista Business Edition. The PC is supposed to have a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 video/graphics card and 2GB of RAM memory installed. However, the BIOS and Windows both report only 128MB of dedicated video memory. Have I been cheated or is the computer not reporting the correct amount of video memory?

Answer

Both ATI and nVidia and Dell have been engaged in some deceptive advertising recently. Both ATI and nVidia have developed technology that allows their graphics cards to share system RAM memory to supplement their own dedicated video memory.

ATI calls its technology HyperMemory, which doubles the amount of memory available to the video cards that use it by using system memory. For more information, visit http://ati.amd.com/technology/hypermemory.html.

An ATI graphics card that is advertised as having "256MB HyperMemory" means that it only has 128MB of memory on the card.

nVidia calls its memory-sharing technology TurboCache, which allows the graphics card to increase the memory it uses by up to four times the amount of memory on the card.

On its website Dell lists "256MB ATI Mobility Radeon x1400 HyperMemory" as an option for the Inspiron 9400. A small subscript directs you to a footnote at the bottom of the page that says: "The total of local and shared system memory used by this graphics card is up to 256MB. Local onboard memory is 128MB. Up to 128MB of system memory may be allocated to support graphics, depending on the system memory size and other factors." The facts are there, but you would have to look hard to find them. Like you, a customer with some knowledge of graphics cards would probably assume that that option gives you a laptop that has 256MB of dedicated video memory, when only half that amount is the real amount.

The memory requirements of Windows Vista: How much RAM memory does Windows Vista really need to run optimally?

Question

I have a new laptop/notebook computer with 1GB of DDR2 RAM memory that uses 128MB of it to power its built-in graphics. In other words, 128MB of system memory is used for the graphics instead of the graphics chip having its own dedicated memory. The laptop runs Windows XP Pro very well. It came with a free upgrade to Windows Vista Business edition, which I have applied for. I am worried now about installing Vista, because I have read the following article, and my laptop only has one free memory slot for a 1GB memory module.

Kingston Technology - Ultimate Memory Guide -

Covers Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Linux, and Macintosh OS X. -

http://www.kingston.com/tools/umg/umg01b.asp

Buying a new PC? 'Windows Vista Capable' barely hits the mark - IBM'er says Vista's RAM sweet spot is 4GB -

http://www.computerworld.com/action/...11523&intsrc=hm_list

In other words, the machine's maximum supported memory is 2GB and it has a Windows Vista Capable sticker on it. I have discovered that a computer has to be called Windows Vista Ready if it supports all of the requirements of the highest versions of Windows Vista. In other words, my new laptop will be able to run Windows Vista, but not unreservedly. If it needs 4GB of memory to run optimally, as that article says, then it never will be able to do so, because the maximum supported amount of memory is 2GB, and that cannot be changed.

Answer

As usual, Microsoft's recommended minimum amount of RAM memory for the different versions of Windows Vista has caused quite a bit of controversy. Ever since Windows 95, Microsoft's "minimum" hardware requirements mean the least amount of hardware that is required to get a particular version of Windows functioning.

To run any version of Windows Vista, Microsoft says that those minimum hardware requirements are an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a graphics card that is at least compatible with DirectX 9.

Windows Vista would run on a desktop or laptop computer with that hardware, but it won't be an enjoyable experience - especially if it is one of the higher versions of Windows Vista. In fact, if you have a PC with that sort of hardware, you should only use the Windows Vista Home Basic version.

Most of the versions of Windows Vista require more RAM memory to run optimally on a computer that doesn't use memory-hungry applications than Windows XP. A video-editing application is an example of memory-intensive software. Only Windows Vista Home Basic has a recommended amount of memory of 512MB, which is the same amount recommended for Windows XP. Windows Vista Home Premium, the most popular version and Windows Vista Ultimate require 1GB (1024MB) of memory, which is twice the amount of memory recommended to run Windows XP. Read the information on the RAM pages of this site to find out if you should buy memory for use in single-channel or dual-channel modes.

The new key features of Vista, such as the new AeroGlass/Flip 3D interface won't run of the minimum hardware requirements. Read the information provided on the Using Windows Vista section of this site for more information on Vista's new features and the hardware that is required to run them.

Microsoft's "recommended" hardware, which includes a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a video/graphics card with at least 128MB of video RAM, a Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM) device driver, and 32 bits/pixel output, is a more realistic practical recommended minimum for a Windows Vista Capable computer.

Graphics Hardware and Drivers for Windows Vista -

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/graphics-reqs.mspx

Microsoft recommends that a Windows Vista Ready computer should have a graphics card with 128MB of dedicated video memory (not an integrated graphics chip on the PC's motherboard that uses 128MB of system memory) that supports DirectX 9.0 and Pixel Shader 2. A system like this should allow all of the key components of Windows Vista to run. Nevertheless, the "recommended" hardware requirements are still not equivalent to an "optimal" system setup.

Many experts recommend that Vista should run on at least 2GB of RAM, which is widely considered as being the optimal amount of memory to run Windows XP on. However, Windows Vista (from the Vista Home Premium version up) is a bigger and more complex operating system than even Windows XP Professional Edition, so it will not run as well on 2GB of memory as Windows XP does. However, most users will probably find that the performance of any version of Vista will be perfectly acceptable with that amount of memory.

All of the 32-bit versions of Vista support up to 4GB of RAM. For your information, the 64-bit versions support more than that. But does Vista really need 4GB of memory? - No. Vista runs in a limited way on as little as 512MB of memory, passingly well on 1GB, and acceptably well on 2GB. However, to run the higher versions of Vista optimally, 4GB of RAM are required, which is double the amount required to run Windows XP optimally.

Just bear in mind that you say that your laptop computer runs Windows XP Professional well on 896MB (1024MB minus the 128MB used by the graphics chip), so it will probaby run Windows Vista Business edition just acceptably well on 2GB less 128MB (2048 - 128 = 1920MB).

Power Options/Power Schemes: Whenever I close the lid of my laptop/notebook PC, it shuts down...

Problem

With my previous laptop computer, I used to close the lid whenever I wanted to take a break, and the computer would shut down. When I reopened the lid, the computer would come back to life fairly quickly and be in exactly the same state it was in before I left off. With my new laptop, whenever I close the lid, it shuts down, but Windows has to reboot when it restarts, and I have to open the program I was using again. How can I get the previous response back?

Answer

This has to do with your laptop's power settings. Your current computer is not shutting down, it is going into standby mode. Your previous computer was going into hibernation.

Click Start => Control Panel => Power Options in Windows XP. In Windows Vista, look under System and Maintenance in the Control Panel for the Power Options.

There are some useful settings there for use with a laptop/notebook PC, because they can reduce the amount of battery power it uses. Several power schemes are available under the Power Schemes tab that configure the way in which the computer turns itself off, or you can choose your own settings. For example, you can set how long the computer has to be inactive before it goes into hibernation.

The setting you need is under the Advanced tab, because it controls what happens when you close the laptop's lid. The setting is called When I close the lid of my computer. The options in the drop-down menu are: Do nothing, Stand by, and Hibernate.

The two other settings are called When I press the power button on my computer and When I press the sleep button on my computer. These two otions have the additional choices of Ask me what to do and Shut down.

You have probably chosen the Stand by option from the drop-down menu, so choose the Hibernate option instead and thye computer won't have to reboot every time you reopen the lid. When the computer goes into standby mode, just like a TV set, it shuts down but remains powered on. When it comes out of standby, a computer has to reboot Windows. However, when the computer hibernates it saves the state it is in to RAM memory so that it can recall what it has saved in memory when it comes out of hibernation. The desktop should be returned to exactly the same state it was in before the computer went into hibernation. You must have the Enable hibernation option enabled under the Hibernate tab of Power Options in order to make use of the hibernate feature.

Why is my laptop that is set to the "Always On" Power Scheme running at half speed?

Problem

I have a Dell laptop that is about two years old, running Windows XP. CPU-Z and the General tab under System in the Control Panel both tell me that the computer is running at only 800MHz, which is half of the 1.60GHz the processor is rated for. My current power setting under Control Panel => Power Options => Power Schemes is Always On, because I use mains power instead of the battery. If I try using any of the other power settings, the processor just runs slower. How can I make the computer run at or close to 1.60GHz?

Answer

Have a look the Dell QuickSet application, which appears as a large Q in the System Tray (Notification Area) in bottom right side of the screen, or in the Control Panel.

QuickSet is Dell's proprietary software that manages the power and other settings, such as the screen's brightness and the network connectivity. Dell must think that QuickSet does a better job of managing those settings than Windows XP. If you try to manage the power settings directly through the Windows Power Options in the Control Panel, QuickSet can often override them, although sometimes it does not.

For example, you could have Windows XP's Power Scheme set for Always On, but if QuickSet is set for Maximum Battery Life, it could override the Windows XP setting. As you should know, Windows slows the processor down in order to extend the battery life. It is usually always best to have Windows managing the power.

Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo and others all have programs like Dell's QuickSet. Most of them can be uninstalled easily in Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel. If not, most of them allow you to turn them off via a setting of their own, such as: Use Windows to manage the power options.

What do I have to know in order to use my notebook computer in the US and Europe?

Question

I will have to use my laptop computer when I travel to the US and Europe from the UK. Are there any important considerations that I should know about in order to be able to do that?

Answer

You shouldn't have a problem charging the laptop in the US or Europe, because the power supplies on most laptops can accept 100-240V at 50Hz or 60Hz. However, make sure by checking the label. However, you will need an adapter in order to be able to plug it into the mains. Someone using an American laptop in the UK would have to use an adapter that allows it to be connected to the UK mains system. You can also buy surge protectors for additional safety. Read the information on these two pages:

LAPTOP USE ABROAD - http://www.travelproducts.com/store/laptops.htm

ELECTRICAL MATTERS - http://www.travelproducts.com/store/electric.htm

Traveling With Laptops In The Post-9/11 World -

http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6503586

It has become more difficult to take a laptop through airport security. You will probably have to switch it on to prove that it is a working computer, not a disguised bomb.

You can use a laptop on a plane, but you should deactivate the wireless network adapter, because you don't want to log on to other laptops wirelessly and you don't want other laptops logging on to yours. You can do that via Network Connections in Windows XP by right-clicking on the adapter.

Note that the computer's warranty might not allow it to be serviced outside the UK, so check with its manufacturer before you go abroad. You should also have sufficient travel insurance to cover the value of the computer in case it is stolen, lost, or damaged.

How can I connect my laptop computer to a TV? - Hooking up laptop to a TV

Problem

I have an HP ZV5000 laptop computer and I want to hook it up to my TV and home theatre equipment. What is the best way to do this using S-Video or Composite video? I am very confused about all of these connections.

Answer

Have a look at the available output ports on your computer's video/graphics card, or its motherboard's ports panel if it is an integrated motherboard that has an inbuilt graphics chip instead of a separate AGP or PCI Express graphics card. The available output ports are: a 15-pin D-sub VGA port, a DVI port, and an S-Video port. Your computer could have one, two, or all of those ports.

Next, you have to identify the type of television TV you have - an analog or digital TV. If it's an analog television, it should have an S-Video input port. If it's a digital television, it could have any of these input ports: S-Video, 15-pin VGA D-sub, component video, or a DVI input.

Now you have to match the output port from the computer with the input port on the TV. A VGA D-Sub or DVI match provides the best quality of image and picture production. If you have a component video connection on the TV and a VGA D-sub output on the computer, you can connect them by making use of an adapter. An S-Video connection provides the poorest quality of image and picture production, so you should only use it if you can't use either of the other alternatives.

Turn the TV channel to AV1, or whatever you plugged it into. Consult your laptop's user manual to find out how to make it display on an external monitor. In Windows XP, you will probably have to make the secondary monitor (the TV) the primary monitor under Control Panel => Display => Settings.

You must match the screen resolution that the TV uses with the screen resolution that the PC is using. You do that in Windows under Display => Settings.

Compatible screen resolutions and video standards might be provided on the back of the TV. If not, you should be able to find them listed in the TV's user manual.

If the VGA D-sub TV input is PC compatible, one or more of the following video standard and screen resolutions should be provided:

VGA = 640x480

SVGA = 800x600

XGA = 1024x768

SXGA = 1280x1024

The 15-pin VGA D-sub input might not be directly PC compatible. If this is the case, one or a few of the following television formats and their compatible screen resolutions should be provided on the back of the TV or in the TV's user manual:

480i - not compatible with PC's

480p = 720x480

720p = 1280x720

1080i = 1920x1080 (interlaced)

1080p = 1920x1080

To provide sound with any of the above-mentioned connections, you connect a 1/8" to L/R RCA cable from the audio output on the computer (on the sound card or motherboard if it is an integrated motherboard) to the corresponding audio jack on the TV.

To provide sound on a laptop computer that doesn't have an RCA Composite port, buy an RCA-headphone jack adapter, which costs about £2/$3. You connect an RCA cable to the RCA Composite input on your TV, plug the other end in to the adapter, and the adapter into the headphone or line-out plug in your laptop computer.

If you require more information, the articles and pages linked to below describe in detail how to connect the different types of PC video/graphics ports to analog and digital TVs.

How To Connect a Computer To Your TV -

http://www.techlore.com/article/10061/?page=1

PC to TV and TV to PC Converters - Provides USB converters -

http://www.keyzone.com/converters/index.htm

Connect your Media Center PC to a TV -

"The S-Video cable works well with most standard TVs. The procedure below explains how to connect a TV to your computer using an S-Video connection." -

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/using/setup/connecttv.mspx

TV Connection cables -

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/using/setup/cables.mspx

How to use the S-Video out of your computer - http://www.svideo.com/compaq1700.html

PC to TV cables - http://www.svideo.com/pc2tv.html

If you enter connect + tv + pc (as is) in the Google search box at the top of this page (with its web radio button enabled), you can find plenty of other useful pages.

Shutdown problem: My three-year-old notebook PC started freezing and now it starts to shut down at random intervals

Problem

I have a three-year-old Dell 250N notebook PC. It was working perfectly well until all of a sudden it started to freeze for no reason. Then, after about two weeks of doing that, it started to shut down randomly, often after only a few minutes of having been switch on. The actions I've taken so far without success are: scanned for spyware and viruses with updated scanners, and used the restore disc to restore the system. I noticed that the bottom of the PC becomes very hot, so I bought a set of feet thinking that it would help the airflow, but the problem remains.

Answer

The laptop's circuitry appears to be shutting it down in order to prevent damage to the processor. It is doing that because the laptop is overheating, no doubt because of an accumulation of dust inside the case that reduces the effectiveness of the cooling fans and the heatsinks that depend on them to expel hot air. The solution is relatively simple. Click here! to go directly to information on overheating laptops and how to clean them on on Page 4 of this article on laptop PCs.

Some of the newer PC games run very slowly at their lowest settings on my ageing laptop, but its manufacturer doesn't have updated drivers for the video/graphics card

Problem

I have an elderly Intel Pentium 4 business laptop PC that has a 2GHz processor and an ATI Mobility M6 graphics chip. I use it for office work and to play PC games. Some of the newer games run very slowly, even with the lowest screen resolution. The ATI Catalyst drivers won't install. A message comes up telling me to obtain the drivers from the laptop's manufacturer. But the manufacturer's site only has the version of the drivers that are already installed.

Answer

The ATI Mobility M6 graphics chip is elderly by current standards, but it should still be able to play many 3D Games at reasonable speeds.

Click here! to go directly to information about laptop graphics drivers on Page 2 of this article on laptop PCs.

The simplest solution is to install the ATI Omega drivers. They can be obtained from: http://www.omegadrivers.net/.

Crucial's UK and US Memory Advisors

If you want to make sure that you're buying the correct RAM modules for a laptop, try looking the make and model up by using the Crucial UK and US Memory Advisors provided below. Crucial guarantees compatibility or you get your money back. Delivery is free unless you want express delivery.

Paul Mullen, the highly-respected computer guru of the Helpfile at ComputerShopper.co.uk - "I have recently been buying my memory only from Crucial Technology. I would rather pay the extra cost than waste time trying to track down the obscure program faults that bad memory can cause."

For example, if your computer has an Asus motherboard, open the menu, scroll down to ASUS, and click GO. If, say, you have a Dell computer, scroll down to DELL, and do likewise. You will be taken to the relevant information on Crucial's website.

If you don't know the make and model of the motherboard installed in your computer, here is a good free utility - Belarc Advisor - that creates an analysis of the hardware and software on a personal computer. Look under FREE DOWNLOAD - http://www.belarc.com/. Another utility that also provides detailed information on the memory itself is CPU-Z.

The backlight failed on my notebook PC's screen when it was just out of the warranty period and the manufacturer wants to charge me £300 to replace it

Problem

Unfortunately, when the backlight failed on my notebook PC, it was just after the warranty period had expired. I contacted the manufacturer and was quoted £300 to replace it. That is nearly half of what the machine cost me, so I'd like to know if there is a cheaper alternative.

Answer

The problem is caused by a failed component called an inverter board - the electronics that power the screen's backlight. Many dead LCD monitors and laptop screens are brought about by the failure of this component. It looks as if the manufacturer will only provide a screen and an inverted board as a single replacement unit, hence the high cost, because the inverter board itself is a cheap component. They can be purchased relatively easily. There is certainly no need to replace the screen itself, because there is nothing wrong with it. A search of eBay found several inverter boards for sale at around £15. However, you have to buy the correct one for your particular notebook PC.

Buying a new board, or one that has been salvaged, won't be too difficult, but replacing it is the kind of involved job that should only be performed by a professional technician. Luckily, there are many notebook PC repair companies to be found online. I'm sure that you could find one that would be willing to fit a board you've bought instead of forcing you to pay for one that it provides.

I have to buy my son a laptop computer to help him with his studies at university, and I need to know how best to protect it from being stolen

Problem

I want to buy my undergraduate son an entry-level laptop computer that he can use at university to produce MS Word documents and MS Excel spreadsheets, and access the web, etc. Finding one is easy, but the chances of it being stolen are obviously very high given the accommodation in which students live, and I have no idea how best to protect it from being stolen.

Answer

Most of the laptop cable locks you can buy aren't worth the metal they're made of, because a pair or wire cutters is all that is required to slice through the cable. Moreover, the locks are easily picked, and most laptop lock manufacturer's insurance schemes don't provide cover if the lock is picked, only if the lock is broken.

Software can be purchased that detects when a laptop PC is online. It sends information to a tracer service, but most thieves are very well aware of that and will format the hard drive before reinstalling Windows.

Laptops with fingerprint readers / sensors are available that won't allow access to the computer unless the reader recognises the fingerprint of a valid user, but they are expensive machines, and, since the fingerprint information isn't hard-coded into the computer in the same way in which the default BIOS information is, removing it would just be a matter of knowing how to turn off the power source that is keeping the information recorded in the machine.

For example, the IBM/Lenovo laptop PCs that provide them, link the fingerprint security sensor to an embedded security chip. The encrypted fingerprint image is sent directly to and compared with the stored image in the security chip, instead of being transmitted over the general PCI system bus. A fingerprint swipe can be used to unlock a hard disk drive as well as the general Windows logon. The sensor is not entirely perfect, so the device provides a back door method of entry - an administrator password that can bypass the fingerprint sensor and unlock the system. Naturally, IBM recommends the use of a strong password.

Just as entry-level desktop and laptop PCs contain technology that was previously only available on expensive models, fingerprint-sensors will probably be available on entry-level laptop PCs before too long.

However, a knowledgeable or resourceful thief will always be able to overcome it, either by cutting off its source of power, or by removing the chip, erasing the fingerprint image and then replacing it.

Marking the computer with a UV pen and concealing a microscopic data tag somewhere in or on it will enable the police to identify the machine, but the chances are remote that the police will recover it if it's stolen.

I would buy your son a second-hand laptop and cover it with stickers stuck on with superglue, and paint your post code all over it. The thief is likely to sell it to a fence for a fraction of its resale worth, and is unlikely to steal a machine that is marked in that way, because a fence is unlikely to accept it.

After you've done that, the real worry is losing the data, which is likely to be very difficult and time-consuming to replace. You son must make sure that he backs up his data files to an external medium regularly. It's a good idea to back up the data files to a USB flash drive and to an online storage service. If he makes use of an ISP from his accommodation, it is likely to offer free space in which to create a website that is usually not less than 30MBs - more than enough to store plenty of data. Instead of creating a website, he can use an FTP program, such as WS-FTP, to upload his files in the form of zip files to his web space. There are also websites, such as Geocities, that provide free web space.

You can also use Google's GMail. It provides 2GB of storage space. The size of the files you can store is limited to a maximum of 10MB per file, which is more than enough for your son's requirements. The files appear as attachments to messages. You create a filter that archives messages that have GMAILFS in the subject heading in order to prevent them in the inbox.

GMail is still under development, so you can't sign up for an account yet. You have to be given an invitation by an existing user.

However, invitations can be found easily enough through channels such as: http://isnoop.net/gmail.

Click here! to got to the page on this site that deals with creating backups.

Can I install a standard laptop hard disk drive in my Dell Inspiron laptop computer?

Question

I'd like to upgrade the hard disk drive in my Dell Inspiron laptop computer, but Dell charges an arm and a leg for them. I've seen the 2.5" drives advertised for sale by many vendors for much less. Is there any reason why I couldn't buy one and install it, or do I have to fit a Dell drive in a Dell laptop?

Answer

Good news! You can install any recent 2.5" notebook IDE drive in the Inspiron - or any other laptop computer for that matter. However, note that Dell sells a module bay that can hold a second hard disk drive - the Inspiron 8x00 Module Bay 2nd Hard Drive Module (Dell part 29MFN) for 9.5mm drives. It is described as a "carrier with cable and connector". The fixing screws for it have part number 53965. The bay allows the new drive to be fitted in the module bay that accommodates the CD-ROM or the floppy disk drive so that software can be copied from the existing hard disk drive.

Note that it's also possible to buy external USB hard disk drive enclosures (not fitted internally) that can house notebook/laptop hard disk drives. They cost about £40 more than a bare drive (in October 2004). A good example is made by Apricom called the EZGIG Notebook Hard Drive Upgrade kit. To find out more about it, enter the name enclosed within double quotation marks in the Google search box at the top of this page. The kit consists of a USB enclosure for the new IDE drive (that connects to a USB port on the laptop) and the software to transfer the installed software from the old to the new drive. If the laptop's BIOS setup program supports booting from a USB device, the new external drive can be made into the boot drive, and the old drive can be left where it is for use as a backup drive.

If you want to view some large images of laptop/notebook hard disk drives and find out what they cost in the UK, visit this site:

http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/

To find out if the prices are competitive, visit one or more of the sites that provide comparative pricing information on computer hardware that appear as Google adverts at the top of this page, or on the Disk Drive pages of this site. If the Google adverts appear in your country they are specifically aimed at computer users in that country.

I can't find a wireless PC card that fits my notebook computer's PCMCIA slot

Problem

I have two desktop PCs and a laptop PC. One of the desktop PCs is connected to a broadband ADSL connection. I want all three computers to share the connection via a wireless Ad Hoc network that is connected to a wireless 802.11g router. I installed an MSI PC54G2 wireless adapter in each of the desktop PCs. Unfortunately, I purchased an MSI CB54G2 CardBus card for the elderly Toshiba Satellite Pro 420CTD laptop that is running Windows 98 SE, but it doesn't fit into its PCMCIA slot. I therefore need some advice on how best to connect the laptop to a wireless router.

Answer

The credit-card-sized cards for notebook PCs are called PCMCIA cards. CardBus cards are the 32-bit versions of PCMCIA cards, which are now the prevalent kind found in computer stores. The older 16-bit PCMCIA cards that are also known as PC Cards, fit and can function from a 32-bit CardBus slot, but a 32-bit CardBus card won't work from or fit properly into a 16-bit PCMCIA slot. This has been made so because a 32-bit card won't work on a 16-bit bus, but a 16-bit card will work on a 32-bit bus.

Add-on USB cards for laptops/notebooks have required a CardBus slot since they were introduced in 1996 - at about the time when the USB standard first became available. At that time, Pentium II processors were replacing the original Pentium processors. Your laptop's user manual should tell you if it supports 16-bit PCMCIA or CardBus cards. Alternatively, start up your laptop. On the Windows 98 desktop, right-click on My Computer, click Properties and open the Device Manager. If there is a heading called PCMCIA adapters, you should see devices listed that mention PC Card or CardBus. If CardBus isn't mentioned, your laptop doesn't support it.

A CardBus network card has a much higher data transfer rate than PC Card network card, which is essential if the wireless network uses 802.11a or 802.11g wireless equipment, because the whole network will work at the data transfer speed of its slowest member. A PC Card only has a theoretical maximum data transfer rate of 20Mbit/s (megabits per second), which is much slower than the theoretical maximum data transfer rate of 54Mbit/s of the 802.11g wireless standard. If you use PC Card on the laptop, the whole network will work at its slower speed. CardBus also supports direct memory access - DMA - and bus-mastering, which greatly reduce the load placed on the processor as it transfers data.

Your laptop could be one of the few that has one or more USB 1.1 ports, but doesn't support CardBus. If it is, then you can use a standard wireless USB network adapter, which are easy to find. But if it doesn't have a USB port and doesn't support CardBus, you'll have to use a 16-bit PCMCIA wireless card. One of these might be difficult to find. If you can't find a new card, you should be able to find a used one on eBay.

The Orinoco Gold Classic is an excellent 16-bit wireless card. Many wireless card manufacturers only provide drivers for Windows 98 SE and higher versions of Windows, but the manufacturer of Orinoco cards provides drivers for a very wide range of operating systems, including Windows 95 and the original version of Windows 98. The Orinoco Gold Classic wireless card supports an external antenna and works with many third-party networking utilities.

You are advised to take care when making a purchase, because many reputable vendors incorrectly describe CardBus cards as PCMCIA cards. They also don't tend to specify if the adapter is a 16-bit or a 32-bit card. However, note that if the card supports the 802.11g wireless standard, it must be a CardBus adapter, because a 16-bit card cannot support the 802.11g wireless standard, it can only support the slower 802.11b standard.

You must make sure that you buy an 802.11b 16-bit card, which will work with an 802.11g router, because the two standards are backward compatible.

Linksys made the following 802.11b 16-bit wireless cards: WPC11, WPC11 2.5, WPC11 2.7, WPC11 3, and WPC11 3.1.

These are the CardBus cards made by Linksys: WPC11 4, WPC54G, WPC54GS, WPC54GX, WPC51AB, and WPC55AG.

You can locate other manufacturer's products, such as those made by Netgear, by entering a suitable search phrase in the Google search box provided at the top of this page with its Web radio button selected.

How do I disable my laptop touchpad in order to have just a mouse pointer?

Question

I own a Dell Inspiron 8100 running Windows XP Professional Edition that has both a touchpad and the little eraser looking thingy [a touch pad or trackstick]. Can you please tell me how to disable the touchpad and the eraser thingy so that the external mouse, attached a USB port, is the only device driving a cursor?

Answer

There is a simple way to disable the touchpad on your laptop. First, turn on or restart your computer. When the Dell logo comes up press F2 to open the BIOS setup program. Press the Alt + p keys three times to get to page. Near the middle of the screen you should see an option called Pointing Device. Change it from Touch Pad - PS/2 Mouse to just PS/2 Mouse. That setting should work fine for your USB mouse. Then save the changes, and exit the BIOS. The computer should reboot automatically.

The settings for the Pointing Device depends on the make of BIOS being used, so it will vary from laptop to laptop. Consult the user manual that came with the laptop for information on how to enter the BIOS for a particular laptop, and for information on the BIOS settings. If you don't possess a manual, you should be able to download a copy in the PDF format that requires the Acrobat Reader.

PC Buyer Beware! Copyright © Eric Legge 2004-2008. All rights reserved.